This Isn't How a Plane's Intercom Phone Is to Be Used

'Belligerent' Frontier passenger accused of striking flight attendant with phone
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 22, 2023 8:58 AM CDT
Frontier: 'Belligerent' Passenger Struck Worker With Intercom Phone
In this Sept. 22, 2019, file photo, a Frontier Airlines plane is seen at Denver International Airport in Denver.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

A Frontier Airlines passenger headed from Colorado to Florida delayed her plane's trip to warmer climes and now has an arrest under her belt after a confrontation with a flight attendant. The airline says in a statement that the "belligerent" female passenger on Flight 708 from Denver to Tampa had been asked to leave the aircraft, waiting for departure at Denver International Airport, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, a request that apparently set her off, per USA Today. "As she was deplaning, she picked up an intercom phone and struck a flight attendant with it," the airline's statement notes.

It's not clear what provoked the passenger's alleged behavior, nor how seriously hurt the flight attendant was. The passenger, identified by KMGH as Shuri Turner, was arrested and charged with assault, according to the Denver Police Department. After being cited, Turner was released and booked on another flight home. The original flight left about four hours later than scheduled.

Denver International Airport told CNN in a statement that, "unfortunately," it lacked further "information on the flight." Out-of-control airline passengers have run rampant since the pandemic began, with nearly 6,000 reports in 2021, and more than 2,450 last year, per Federal Aviation Administration stats. This year, there have been 670 such reports so far. For context, 2017 saw just 544 reports in total. (More Frontier Airlines stories.)

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